Wearing the wrong size latex surgical gloves impairs manual dexterity

Universal precautions mandate that health care workers wear gloves when dealing with patients, often in situations requiring a high level of technical skill. Although it seems obvious that wearing the wrong size gloves could impair or prolong tasks involving manual dexterity, the issue has not been formally studied. We tested the hypothesis that wearing the wrong size gloves impairs manual dexterity. We administered a grooved pegboard test to 20 healthy, paid, volunteer health care workers. The subjects performed the test with bare hands and while wearing their preferred size of latex surgical gloves, gloves that were a full size smaller, and gloves that were a full size larger. Each subject did three runs with each size glove and three runs with bare hands. The time necessary to insert pegs was measured with a stopwatch. Peg insertion time was not affected by wearing preferred size gloves (vs. bare-handed) but was increased 7-10% by gloves that were either too small or too large (both effects: P < 0.05 vs. preferred size; both P < 0.001 vs. bare-handed). The subjects reported that the too-small gloves limited hand motion or hurt their hands, whereas the too-large gloves were clumsy but comfortable. Health care workers should wear gloves that fit properly when doing tasks that require manual dexterity. If the preferred size is unavailable, wearing gloves that are too large seems the best alternative.